Blackpink in your area! After a two-year hiatus, YG Entertainment’s sensational South Korean K-pop girl group has finally come back with their newest song, “Ready for Love,” in collaboration with popular battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile.
In the “Ready for Love” music video that has since been released on YouTube, Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo and Rosé perform as their virtual selves in the fantastical world of PUBG Battlegrounds. The heartfelt love song is a special track in Blackpink’s concert series, “The Virtual,” which is PUBG’s first-ever digital concert and took place at the end of July. Blinks — aka Blackpink fans — from all over the world have been anticipating the song’s release since it was teased in the group’s 2020 Netflix documentary, “BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky.” But the wait is finally over.
“Ready for Love” is an aching anthem about desiring to be with the one you love. The music video begins with golden-voiced Rosé as she delicately delivers the song’s honest intro verse, seamlessly switching between Korean and English: “The only thing that fills my head today is Y-O-U.” Her angelic avatar appears in a divine forest as a whirling diamond hourglass turns the world around her to an indigo gloom of longing: “Can’t get you out of my head / The bottle I drained out all night is blue.” A bold Jisoo then marches across an icy snowscape, continuing the melancholic melody with her husky vocals: “Yeah, I don’t know how many times you’ve thrown my heart away / A train of thought runs nonstop / Keeping me up all night.”
As Jisoo finishes the frigid first verse, she reaches out for a frozen, dainty flower that flares a pink color and a ferocious gust of wind erupts around her. In a desert wasteland, Lisa makes a daredevil entrance on a pink motorcycle as her silvery voice opens: “Yeah, only when you’re in need / Yeah, you only call me when you’re in need.” Finally, Jennie lies above a calm ocean as her powerful voice rings out the hopeful pre-chorus: “There’s no need to wait now / There’s no need to be afraid / Show me the colors of your heart.”
The four virtual women finally unite in a magenta dome stage for the booming chorus, which has an entrancing EDM, pop beat. From there, Blackpink dances fiercely in formation with their high-knee boots and glamorous dresses, singing that they are “Ready for Love.” The dynamic camera angles capture just what a real-life Blackpink music video would look like as the digital shots move in tune with the rhythmic music.
Lisa, the group’s powerhouse rapper alongside Jennie, gets her rhyme in during the contemplative second verse: “What if love wasn’t what it was supposed to be? What if there’s no Romeo for me?” Jisoo and Rosé, the lyrical lead vocalists, team up to deliver the song’s tender bridge, as they finish off their declarations of love: “Your spirit and everything about you / When you throw all of yourself for me / I will protect you.” The music video ends with a lasting image: A grand diamond crown shines behind them as the four women settle into a goddess-like pose. It’s an ethereal finish in the magical world of PUBG.
In true Blackpink fashion, the “Ready for Love” music video broke multiple records. In the first 24 hours of the video’s release on YouTube, it became the most-viewed game collaboration music video at a staggering 15.7 million views, the most-liked K-pop girl group video at 2.3 million likes and the No. 1 trending music video worldwide in a total of 71 countries.
Not only that, but the star group also received a 2022 MTV VMA nomination for “Best Metaverse Performance” alongside pop artists BTS, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Charli XCX and Twenty One Pilots. Blackpink’s hottest music video received thousands of positive comments on YouTube from users in different countries. Many YouTubers also created reaction videos where they watched the music video and bopped along to the song. This all comes as no surprise considering Blackpink is the most popular K-pop girl group of all time.
The significant achievements of Blackpink’s “Ready for Love” are certainly not a first for the quartet. As one of YG Entertainment’s most successful groups, Blackpink has many accomplishments that have brought them to the top since their official debut back in 2016. The global superstars are the first K-pop group to ever reach 1 billion views on YouTube and perform at Coachella, and they have set multiple Guinness World Records. They also set numerous records on Billboard charts, won over 80 music awards and have collaborated with big-name female artists such as Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa, Selena Gomez and Cardi B.
Blackpink members have also achieved great success individually. The fabulous four are brand ambassadors for famous fashion houses: Jennie for Chanel, Rosé for Saint Laurent, Lisa for Celine and Jisoo for Dior. Some Blackpink members have also gotten roles in TV dramas — Jisoo was a lead actor on a Korean drama series called “Snowdrop” while Jennie recently landed a role on an HBO show called “The Idol.” In the reality TV world, Lisa was a dance mentor on two seasons of the Chinese survival talent show, “Youth with You.” The group also has hot solo careers where each member — excluding Jisoo, who will make her solo debut this year — has released their own music, with each receiving tremendous success. There’s no doubt that the hardworking women will achieve even more greatness in the future.
Just after the release of “Ready for Love,” Blackpink has announced an official comeback. Blackpink’s upcoming album, “Born Pink,” will release sometime in September, followed by a world tour in October. It will be the group’s second studio album after “THE ALBUM,” which released back in 2020. Jennie and Jisoo have also teased their return in their June Rolling Stone cover story, mentioning the “next busy two years” that are in store for the world-famous girl group. Get ready for more Blackpink coming your way!
